Rebecca L . Owen Direct Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Counsel rowen@clarkus.com Legal, Acquisitions, Development and Repositioning

29,

Montgomery County Planning Board 8787 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

Subject: Clark Enterprises testimony on the Staff Draft Bethesda Downtown

Dear Chair Anderson and Commissioners,

Thank you for accepting my letter as part of the public record for your review of the Staff Draft Bethesda Downtown Plan on behalf of Clark Enterprises Inc. This written testimony addresses the proposed changes for the public plaza at Bethesda Metro Center, Clark's vision for preserving the Plaza for a community park, and Clark's commitment to helping to bring this vision to fruition.

There are two very different visions for this public space atop the Bethesda Metro station, which is the largest community gathering space in Downtown Bethesda. Clark believes strongly that the County should retain the current designation of the Plaza as a public urban space. This will allow for the possibility of a large, visible and sustainable civic green in the recognized center of downtown.

The current draft plan, on the other hand, proposes a significant change for the Plaza. Planning staff and our neighbor, Properties, recommend abandoning the current common gathering designation to allow for developing a building of up to 290 feet on the public space. At roughly 25 stories, this would be stories taller than current tallest building in Bethesda. Brookfield has promoted that in addition to this new building, they would provide community space in the form of an interior park that's about half the usable size of the current Plaza and would be hidden behind the new massive structure. This change will destroy Downtown Bethesda's most prominent open space.

Clark has been headquartered in Bethesda for over 50 years. As the largest employer in Downtown Bethesda, Clark wants to ensure this area remains a desirable place to attract employees and tenants. As a long time charitable supporter of the community, Clark also wants to protect the quality of life of our neighbors.

7500 O L D G E O R G E T O W N R O A D F L O O R B E T H E S D A , M A R Y L A N D 20814-6195 301-657-7100 301-657-7263 W W W . C L A R K E N T E R P R I S E S I N C . C O M

G:\LADR\REAL ESTATE - 1 letter to County Board

Montgomery County Planning Board 29,

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Jim Clark, Clark's founder, was heavily involved in creating the Metro Plaza in along with the County, WMATA, and predecessor. This group chose to create a public amenity at the Plaza, paid for by Clark and Brookfield's predecessor, in exchange for the Countv transferring the development rights from the Plaza's public space to additional height for the four existing buildings on the Metro Plaza. The four buildings were specifically situated and designed to maximize sunlight to the Plaza's public space and the Metro buildings. Mr. Clark recently passed away, but before his death, he asked that we try to retain this public benefit for his beloved Bethesda.

We've seen firsthand that interior plazas such as the one proposed by Brookfield don't work. I cite as examples the current Pancake House plaza and the park above Chipotle that go unused. Your staff has noted the failure of these interior spaces in earlier reports. Rather than eliminating an existing well-located public amenity at the Metro, Clark supports breathing new life into the Plaza to make it a centerpiece of the Bethesda Downtown Plan. I f we this opportunity to perpetuate active urban open space at the core of Bethesda pass, there will be no replacement; this is the last large public space available in Downtown Bethesda.

The community agrees with Clark, as is evidenced by more than 1,000 Facebook fans, more than 400 individual letters of support, and additional letters of support from the nearby neighborhoods of Edgemoor, Kenwood and Battery Park representing hundreds of homes. These letters have also been submitted into the public record.

Please know that Clark is not proposing a vision without backing it up. Clark will commit dollars and leadership to help bring a renovation of the existing Plaza to fruition.

I urge the Planning Board to retain the Plaza's current designation as public open space and a major community gathering area in its recommended Bethesda Downtown Plan. It was created as a public amenity for long term community should remain as such. Thank you for your time and consideration.

cc: Gwen Wright Leslye Howerton Robert Kronenberg

County Councilmember Roger Berliner

Enclosure

ESTATE - 1 letler to Montgomery County Planning Board (06

Rebecca L. Owen Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Counsel Clark Enterprises Inc.